THE INSIDER AUTHORITY ON GATOR SPORTS

Roderick Johnson sees improvement at Under Armour practice

It wasn’t in the plans initially for offensive lineman Roderick Johnson (American Heritage/Delray Beach, Fla.) to be a part of the Under Armour All-American Game, but plans change.

The 6-foot-6, 315-pound Florida commit received an invite late Monday afternoon to fill in for a player who got injured in the first practice session.

After his second practice as an All-American, Johnson said he’s starting to hold his own against the competition after a shaky first day of practice.

“The second day was a lot better,” Johnson said. “I got a lot of my pass plays right and I got all of the plays now. So I used my physicality today and played well.

“Just being able to hang out with a group of athletes who are the best in the country has been great.”

In Johnson’s first practice, he and defensive end Demarcus Walker got into it a little bit during drills, but Johnson said it’s all just competitive fire.

“I performed pretty well against him,” Johnson said. “Him and me go back and forth. It’s been like that since the first day I got here. We went at it, but it was just competition. He knows it, and I know it.”

Johnson committed to the Gators for the second time back in December, but he plans on making his official visit to Florida on Jan. 11. He plans to look at this visit from more of the student perspective rather than the football player perspective.

“I just want to have a good time on my visit,” Johnson said. “I want to see the college life if that is the place I’m going to be for the next three or four years. But right now I am 100 percent committed [to Florida].”

About drewlaing

Drew is a senior at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. When not at school, Drew resides in Lakeland, Fla. Ever since working on his high school yearbook, Drew has had an interest in pursuing a journalism career after college. In addition to being Editor-in-Chief of his school newspaper, The Samford Crimson, Drew has also been with Gator Country as an intern for one year. He enjoys the finer things in life like Tampa Bay Rays baseball and always making sure to make fun of the Atlanta Braves to Andrew Spivey’s face.

It wasn’t in the plans initially for offensive lineman Roderick Johnson (American Heritage/Delray Beach, Fla.) to be a part of the Under Armour All-American Game, but plans change.

The 6-foot-6, 315-pound Florida commit received an invite late Monday afternoon to fill in for a player who got injured in the first practice session.

After his second practice as an All-American, Johnson said he’s starting to hold his own against the competition after a shaky first day of practice.

“The second day was a lot better,” Johnson said. “I got a lot of my pass plays right and I got all of the plays now. So I used my physicality today and played well.

“Just being able to hang out with a group of athletes who are the best in the country has been great.”

In Johnson’s first practice, he and defensive end Demarcus Walker got into it a little bit during drills, but Johnson said it’s all just competitive fire.

“I performed pretty well against him,” Johnson said. “Him and me go back and forth. It’s been like that since the first day I got here. We went at it, but it was just competition. He knows it, and I know it.”

Johnson committed to the Gators for the second time back in December, but he plans on making his official visit to Florida on Jan. 11. He plans to look at this visit from more of the student perspective rather than the football player perspective.

“I just want to have a good time on my visit,” Johnson said. “I want to see the college life if that is the place I’m going to be for the next three or four years. But right now I am 100 percent committed [to Florida].”

drewlaingDrewLaingdrew@gatorcountry.comAuthorDrew is a senior at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. When not at school, Drew resides in Lakeland, Fla. Ever since working on his high school yearbook, Drew has had an interest in pursuing a journalism career after college. In addition to being Editor-in-Chief of his school newspaper, The Samford Crimson, Drew has also been with Gator Country as an intern for one year. He enjoys the finer things in life like Tampa Bay Rays baseball and always making sure to make fun of the Atlanta Braves to Andrew Spivey’s face.GatorCountry.com